Cable railway



(No Model.)

Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. MoCALL &;J. V. DEV

CABLE RAILWAY.

Patented Oct. 2, 1883..

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

W. McCALL 8v J. V. DE VRY.

GABLE RAILWAY.

PatentedvOct. 2 1883.

N. PETERS. Phutvlilhognphen wumia m, I). c

UNITE STATES Ariin'r rr icn.

\VILLIAM ll'lQGALL AND JOHN V. DE YRY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CABLE RA! LWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,044, dated October2, 1883. ll Application filed September 18. 1855.. (No model.)

Toall whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat we, XVILLIAM McCA Li; and JOHN V. DEVRY, of the city andcounty of San Franeisco,State of California, have invented anImprovement in Gable Railways; and we hereby declare tlie following tobe a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

()ur invention relates to certain improve nents in cable railways; andit consists in the combination of an improved cable and ameans forconnecting it with the car, and also in a means for passing curves inthe road, together with certain details of construction, all of whichwill be more fully explained by refer- 1 5 once to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of the chain. Fig. 2

is a side sectional view, showing also car Figs. 3 and 4 are enlargedviews of tube, chain,

and wheel. Fig. 5 shows the arrangement for 2Q turning curves. Fig. 6 isa side elevation of part of curve.

A is our cable, which is made flat, and has wrought-iron or steel eyesor elongated loops 3, so formed that they may be worked in at 2 re ularintervals in the manufacture of the cable. These eyes provide openingsinto which the arms of the grip or wheel, which is adjustably mountedupon the car, project to make connection between the car and the ca- 0ble, as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The cable is driven by a stationary engine and pulleys from somesuitable point, and runs in an underground tube or tunnel, O, as shown.

3 5 It may be made of any suitable width, so as to be strong enough forthework to be done, and is supported at intervals by pulleys 1), soformed as to support its edges and leave the central portion clear forthe arms of the grip 0 to pass through the eyes 13 without striking therollers, as shown in Fig. 2. lVherever there is a change of direction toa steeper grade, similar pulleys are fixed above the edges of the cableto prevent its being lifted up 4 5 against the top of the tube by thestrain upon it. These top pulleys must be supported by axles from eitherside, so as to leave the space between them free and open for thepassageof the grip-arms, instcadoi' having an axle 5o tending entirely throughboth.

, lower it, as may be desired. .lowering of the wheel. may take place atany This cable and the means for supporting it allow the use of a muchsmaller tube than is necessary with the ordinary round cable, as

well as from the fact that there is no bulky gripping apparatus to moveinside the tube. In order to connect the car with the cable,

so that it may be propelled along the line of the track, a wheel, E, issuitably jonrnaled upon one end of a frame, 0, which extends nearly orquite horizontally to a short dis- 6o tance from the journals of thewheel, where it is itself journaled to the car-frame, so that the endwhich supports the wheel may be elevated or depressed, and thus raisethe wheel or This raising and pointwherc the wheel is to be disengagedfrom thecable, and especially done at the commencenient of curves, willbe described hereinafter. A lever, f, serves to raise and lower thewheel and frame when desired; or it may be done automatically withoutthe lever. The wheel stands in avertical position, so that the edgeioi'its rim may enter the slotin the roadway...:Short stout arms F projectradially from the rim, and are separated a distance cqual to thatbetween the eyes 13 in the cable. These arms enter the eyes as the cablemoves, and whenthe car is stationary upon the trackthe movement. of thecable causes the wheel to rotate. y

lVhen it is desired to have the car move, the lever Gr is thrownforward; and acts upon a strap-brak e, H, which encircles a drum, I,secured to the same shaft with the wheel E, and when the friction isincreased sufficiently the WllGQlWlll gradually cease rotating and thecar begin to move, Motion is thus gradually imparted to the car andincreases until the wheel ceases to revolve, when the car will be 0propelled at the full speed of the cable. By throwing the lever back andrelaxing the band upon its driver, the wheel will be left free to rotateand the car will come to a standstill.

By this device the car is started gradually, and 5 no abrubt or suddenstrain is brought upon the cable. The latter is also relieved from thefriction and rapid wear due to the use of compression-grips, and willthus last much longer.

For the purpose of turning curves we ein- IOO r b a li' k n ip d is ledaround the curve by guidetravel rails smooth-1y a mid thecurve.

sesl around suitable horizontald um a p p L jThelinksof the chain haverollers M attach I to them, and these rollers are fitted torunjupbn'the, guide-rails, so astopass the chain SpursNarefixed to' theichain-so as toproject horizontally outward, these fspursbeing'separated a distance equal ,tdthatbetween theeyes B of the mainchain, soth'atgthey maybe engaged by the projecting armsiEiofthejwheel Ewhenever acar arrives'at this. point, and they willthus move the cararound the curve. The main chain is depressed bypulleys P just beforereaching the curve, so 'asatobe belowtheline of the teeth of the wheelE,and-it makes a quarter-turn, so as to standvertically edgewise and passaround the pulley K,by'which its directionis changed. Aninclined'plane,-, Q, is fixed at a-point just before the open chain is;disengaged from the car, and this elevates the wheel'E, so that its armswill not strikethe spurs Nat an angle or sidewise as they-leave the maincable and arrive at the point where the chain passes around the drum K.J Thewheel is dropped from the incline,however,when it arrives at apointopposite the center of the drum K, or so as to in a line withthej chainJ, when it will be in position to engage the spurs Nproperly." By thisdevice a car may be moved at any desired rate of speed around the curve,not ex ceeding that of the cable, and it may be stopped} at any point orstarted with facility. The chain J is driven by the drums K, and theseare moved by the cable A, which passes around them below the level atwhich it runs in the other portion ofthe tube, so that the arms F of thewheel E will transfer themselves from the eyes of the cable to the spursof the chain without any attention whatever. In passing from its usualcourse along the tube to the drum K, by which the change of direction ismade,

. .the flat cableniakes a quarter turn or twist,

so that its flat sidelies against thedrum, andit moves around the curvewith the edges up and down or in a vertical position. The chain Jfollows the line of the curve in the direction inwhich the/car is totravel, and after passing around thevdrum K at the end is returned behind the curve, as shown, passing around the idler R, which is mademovable, so 'as to in-.

dent'chaim'J, which formed" l; crease the tension,

ters Patent, is-

if there should be any necessity. In some cases it may be foundadvisable to carry the main cable around the curve in line with the slotanddrive the spurs by engaging them directly, The arms F would thenengagethes'e spurs outside the main cable.

' Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desiretosecure 'by Let- .1. The wheel E, having the arms F,adapted to engagethe traveling slotted cable; incombination with the frame 6, havingonevend hinged to the car, and the other supporting thewh'eel journals,and the lever f, by which the wheel may be elevated or depressed, sub- Istantially as herein described. 2. Theindependent chain J, extendingaround the curve, and having the rollers M fixed to it,

i in combination with the guide rails or track L,

upon which they travel, substantially as herein described.

3; In a cable railway, the chain J-,supportcd and guided around thecurve, as shown, and having the projections or spurs N, in combinationwith the Wheel E, mounted upon the car which travels upon the roadway,and having the-arms F projecting into the slot in the tube, so as toengage the spurs, substantially as herein dcscribed. 4.. The fiatperforated traveling cable A, in

combination with the pulleys P, by which it is depressed out of contactwith the arms of the wheel E, and the vertically-faced drum K, by

which its direction and position are changed,

substantially as herein vdescribed.

5. The flat perforated traveling cable A, with its depression-pulleys P,andthe subsidiary chain J, having the spurs N, in combination with theinclined plane Q, by which the wheel E is lifted, substantially asherein described.

6. The wheel E, with its spurs F, to engage the perforated travelingchain A, in combination with the vertically-moving frame 6, in which thewheel-axles are journaled, and, the lever f, substantially as hereindescribed. In witness whereof we hereunto set our hands.

WILLIAM MoGALL. JOHN v. DE VRY.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsn, :G. W. EMERSON.

